According to Gary Colombo “Starting college can be a disconcerting experience.” (Gary Colombo, page 1). Colombo also writes about how it could be stressful for students as it is their first time away from home and dealing with real world stress and independence. Colombo also explains that students will need to use their brains when thinking critically and outside the box. Colombo states that “Culture shapes our way of thinking; it tells us what “makes sense”” (Columbus, p. 3). Colombo explains that “Starting college can be a disconcerting experience” (Colombo, p.1). That there will be increased peer pressure and increased expectations that you never faced during your high school days. “In the dormitories you may find yourself among people whose backgrounds make them seem foreign and unapproachable” (Colombo, p.1). Colombo also states: “If you commute, you may struggle with a feeling of isolation that you have never faced before” (Colombo, p. 1). Colombo also asks in his article “Thinking Critical, Challenging Cultural Myths” “What do instructors mean when they tell you to think critically? (Columbus, page 2). In this paragraph Colombo wants to let the student know that the college teachers will allow the student to use their mind and think outside the box. Being “a critical thinker cultivates the ability to imagine and see one's own different value points, then strengthens, refines, broadens, or reshapes one's ideas in light of those other perspectives” (Columbus, p. 2). Colombo further states that being “a critical thinker is an active learner, someone with the ability to shape, not simply absorb, knowledge” (Colombo, p. 2). Columbus believes that... middle of paper... ...enjoy reading “Thinking Critically, Challenging Cultural Myths by Columbus. I agree with many of the ideas he believes in. Colombo thinks that “Starting college can be a disconcerting experience” (Colombo, p. 1) that instructors want you to think critically, that instructors want you to think outside the box, Colombo also states “The culture shapes the way we think; it tells us what “makes sense” (Columbus, p. 3). I also agree with Columbus' statement that “cultural myths can also have more subtle effects” (Columbus, p. 4). I hope you will agree with some of these statements, but keep an open and free mind. Works Cited Colombo, Gary. “Thinking Critically, Challenging Cultural Myths.” Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing.Ed. Gary Colombo, ed. Robert Cullen and Ed. Bonnie Lisle. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin, 2010. 1-6. Press